Personal trainer says “Not chips! Spicy Baked Chickpeas”

If you’re craving something crunchy, salty, and spicy put down the potato chips! These baked chickpeas will satisfy your craving for something to munch on, give you an extra boost of fiber and won’t leave you with that, ‘I can’t believe I just ate that’, feeling. Experiment with different spice mixtures, or for a sweet take on this recipe bake the chickpeas plain, and while still hot mix with two teaspoons of honey and a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Enjoy!

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Oatmeal is yummy, and is a go to breakfast for a lot of people, but not everyone has the time to sit and wait for steel cut oats to cook on the stove at 6am when they’re running late for work. The instant oatmeal you can buy at the store usually has the second ingredient listed as sugar and even the plain instant oatmeal has added caramel colouring, which is no bueno. This recipe will give you something healthy that is also quick and easy to prepare. Add any extras you may like, but remember to keep it healthy! For my version I used reduced sugar craisins and chopped almonds and it turned out delicious!

Instant Oatmeal Base

{makes enough for 24 individual packets}

Ingredients:

9 cups old fashioned oats

3 cups quick cooking oats

2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure 9 cups of old fashioned oats onto a large cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. While these oats are toasting, put the 3 cups of quick oats in a blender and pulse until roughly ground. Stir together both kinds of oats and salt in a large bowl.

Add any dry mix-ins you want and then either store in an airtight container or measure 1/2 cup servings into individual ziplock bags.

When you are ready to eat, just add enough hot water to reach your desired consistency {usually around 3/4 cup} and stir. Enjoy!

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Personal trainer’s favorite, Chicken Stirfry

If you are craving a stirfry, but don’t want to eat one that comes in a pool of oil like most takeaway’s do, then this recipe is for you! Experiment with different proteins, I used chicken but feel free to use tofu, or lean beef. Also switch it up with different veggies, add baby corn or sugar snap peas for a completely different flavor.

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

Your choice of veggies, I used:

2 green onions, sliced diagonally

1 red bell pepper

1 serrano chili (omit if you are not a big fan of heat)

1/4 pound shitake mushrooms

water chestnuts

bean sprouts

bamboo shoots

garlic

lemon

sesame oil

coconut oil

low sodium soy sauce

Method:

-You want to get your wok VERY hot! Avoid using an oil which will not allow this high of a temperature (ie olive oil which will turn toxic if you use it after it hits its smoking point). I used a tsp of sesame oil and a tsp of coconut oil, which both add an amazing flavor to your stirfry.

-The key to working with a wok is working fast! Add your chopped serrano chili and garlic and stir until fragrant. Add chopped chicken and cook until browned.

-Add all of your veggies! You should stir fry them until they are tender-crisp. An important part of asian cuisine is the different textures, so you want your veggies to still have some crunch.

-Add in juice of 1/2 a lemon and a tbsp of soy sauce. Allow sauce to simmer for about a minute and remove from heat. Serve over brown rice or udon noodles and enjoy!

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Cherry Hill Personal, Flounder with Asparagus and Rosemary recipe

Sometimes it’s hard to eat healthy when you’re short on time, or just don’t have the energy to cook dinner for the whole family. This recipe is quick to make, delicious, healthy and easy to clean up! If you aren’t a fan of asparagus, rosemary or lemon, experiment with different vegetable, herb, citrus combinations. If you dislike fish, you can replace with a boneless, skinless chicken breast, but increase your cooking time by ten minutes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

-Aluminum Foil-1 Flounder filet

-Asparagus spears

-Fresh rosemary

-garlic

-lemon (sliced into thin rounds)

-salt and pepper

-capers (optional)

Method:

-Preheat oven to 400 F degrees

-Tear off a piece of aluminum foil big enough to hold your veggies and meat that will also
allow the package to be sealed up with enough space on the inside to steam. Place on a baking tray.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

I tried this recipe for homemade protein bars and they turned out so yummy that I thought I’d pass along the recipe to you all. A single protein bar at the store can cost as much as $3! All you need for these are ingredients you probably already have laying around the house, and they take just minutes to make. There are several variations that you can choose from, I made my favorite, but be creative and make your own as you please! But keep it healthy!

Total time: 10minutes (not counting time in fridge)

Ingredients:

4 Scoops Chocolate Protein Powder

1/4 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup honey

1-2 tbsp water

Method:

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, add a tablespoon of water at a time until you get a desired ‘crumbly’ texture. Be careful not to make your mixture too wet.

Cover a tray in parchment paper or foil and press mixture into a 5×4 inch rectangle.

Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes (be aware that your bars will not be as solid as store bought bars)

Remove from refrigerator and cut into five 1 inch bars, place flat on plate and store in fridge for up to a week.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

It was a super sad day for me when I learned from my personal trainer, Kirill vaks, that my favorite popsicles (that advertised themselves as being healthy) were comprised of sugar. I had a half a box left, and I had to throw them out! I was not happy with my personal trainer, It broke my heart. However, I have found an alternative way to satisfy my sweet tooth AND be healthy! These popsicles are made of only greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and a little bit of honey.

Now, I know you’re thinking, “well I just don’t have the money to spend on the ingredients I need to make these.”, so, for you skeptical folks out there I did a little breakdown of the costs of these healthy popsicles vs. the store bought sugar filled variety.

That comes to be $5.66 for 8 popsicles or $.70 per popsicle, AND you’ll have yogurt, fruit and honey left over to make yourself something yummy for breakfast!!

Ingredients:

1 cup pitted cherries or 1/2 cup strawberries (or other fruit of your choice, I used raspberries and strawberries and used about a cup combined)

1 cup of non-fat greek yogurt

1.5 tablespoons honey

Instructions Healthier choice popsicle:

In a small food processor or blender, puree the fruit for 30 seconds to 1 minute (do not blend for too long or the puree will become too watery.)

In a measuring cup or bowl with pouring spout, stir together the yogurt and honey. Fold in about 2 tablespoons of the fruit puree. Taste and add more honey or fruit puree as desired (but lighter on the honey, personal trainer’s orders).

Pour fruit and yogurt mixture into popsicle molds, filling about 3/4 of the way. Add popsicle sticks and freeze for at least 3 hours.

To remove: run warm water of the bottom of the popsicle mold and gently twist and pull out the popsicle.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Start your morning off right with a delicious, metabolism boosting, breakfast. There is no easier breakfast to create than Cereal!However, the majority of cereals out there are high in sugar… and… that’s pretty much it. Due to its time efficiency, let’s create our own cereal!

Step 1: Every cereal needs Fiber!

Granola!! tastes great but not always healthy. Make sure to check the ingredients on your granola. If the ingredients have high fructose corn syrup, sugar, organic cane sugar or any other similar sugar additive, move on (Here is an example of an approved granola!) High-fiber foods can help reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes by regulating blood pressure, insulin levels, and in turn, weight gain. Eating fiber-rich foods also aids in digestion and the absorption of nutrients, and helps you feel fuller longer after a meal (which can curb overeating and weight gain).

Step 2: Sweeten it up

No! not splenda or sweet and low! Fresh fruits like blueberries, nectarines, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, offer natural sweetness to your cereal. With all the free radical build up, you can use the extra anti-oxidant power from your berries!

Step 3: Include a healthy fat.

Add some crunch and a healthy fat! mix in almonds. Not only are you eating great but almonds may help in lowering your cholesterol!

Step 4:A little extra something

Add in some flax seed for a powerful omega-3 kick, with a protein combo! Grind it up well and you won’t even realize it’s in there!

Step 5: Top it off with milk.

Use a lower fat milk, and as mentioned in a prior article “how animals are raised and how that affects you“, try to stick to organic milk. High in calcium, great for your bones! If you don’t drink cow’s milk, you can use non-dairy beverages like almond, rice, or soy milk, which tend to be lower in calories (for you Calorie counters out there.) You may also add whey protein into the mix. just shake it up/ blend with your milk before you top off the cereal. This can help anyone looking to add a bit more protein to the meal. Instead of the 8-10 grams from the milk, the whey can add an extra 20-25grams (between the milk protein and whey protein you’ll have some where between 28-33g of protein, more than enough for most of the population!)

Step 6: Enjoy!

You made it, now enjoy it! The best part of preparing your own food is, you know exactly what was put into it! Enjoy your easy, yet, healthy breakfast!

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Deciphering what your food label is saying to you: Chicken:

Eating healthy can be tough! You make a decision to get rid of steak, ribs, and all the fatty protein in your diet and start eating chicken and fish, lean proteins! Then you come by an article like this one and realize, it’s time to take it up a few notches. Let’s decipher what the labels on our chicken really mean.

Natural

“My chicken label says it’s natural! That must mean something!” I hear this often, lets decipher: Anything in the meat and poultry aisle can be called natural. No artificial colors, flavors, or other ingredients, no preservatives and “minimal processing”, but not necessarily all will fall into the category. The USDA has forced marketers to at least add which of the listed were not added (hopefully all!)

Free Range (*this only applies to poultry!)

This label is usually misunderstood. Free range only means that the chicken had a “chance” to run around. It doesn’t necessarily mean it did. To use this label, the Government requires that outdoor access is available for some assigned period of time (that’s right, it can range from 5 minutes to an hour). They may not be in cages but still raised in a crammed area. Deciphered: Whatever you ingest, you want it to have been raised healthy! You are what you eat. Unless you personally know the farmer that raises the chickens, this label can vary in its significance and usually it holds little meaning. (*Free Range is different than pastured)

100% Vegetarian Diet

This term isn’t regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It is generally meant to suggest that an animal is fed a healthier diet and is raised without being fed animal byproducts or dairy products. According to the USDA, manufacturers that use this term on package labels must be able to provide evidence to support the claim. Deciphered: Their feeddidn’t contain animal byproducts, which can mean ground up animal parts and feces.

Antibiotic-free

Under U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations, meat and poultry products can be labeled as “no antibiotics added” if documentation is provided showing that the animals were raised without antibiotics. Similar allowable terms according to the USDA are “no antibiotics ever,” “no added antibiotics” and “raised without the use of antibiotics.” However, the term “antibiotic-free” isn’t USDA approved.

If animals are given antibiotics to prevent or treat disease, an antibiotic-withdrawal period — usually several days — is generally required before animals can be slaughtered so that there are no antibiotic residues in meat or poultry. Deciphered: Still not much but the less antibiotics given, usually means the stronger and, possibly, lived under better conditions.

No added hormones

Claims of “no hormones added” can’t be used on labels for these products unless the label also states, “Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones.” Deciphered: This label is worthless unless you are buying beef.

Pastured or Pasture-Raised

Regulations are part of the National Organic Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). To use the label “pastured”, manufactures must provide year-round access to the outdoors for all ruminant animals, providing them with pasture throughout the grazing season in their area and ensuring that the animals get at least 30 percent of their dry-feed intake from pasture grazing over the course of grazing season. Deciphered: All those Looney tunes cartoons where you see chickens in the background, roaming free, it’s kind of like that. It’s expensive but this is a good label.

Organic

To use this label, the farm must meet USDA standards and be officially certified through the USDA. Deciphered: 100% organic feed, no animal byproducts, no hormones, no antibiotics, Must have outdoor access, no irradiation, no pesticides (for the feed), no synthetic fertilizers, no sewage sludge, no synthetic pesticides, and no GMO. Now, that chicken sounds delicious!

None of the terms listed

Deciphered: This one I’ll leave to your imagination

It’s important to know and understand what is going into your body. Just because it says chicken, does not mean it’s healthy. You are what you eat and if you’re eating chicken that have never spread their wings because it stuck in a cages, being treated with antibiotics and pesticides are consistently being sprayed to get rid of the smaller critters on the farm (lice, fleas, etc.). It’s understandable why most people are taking between 3-15 pills a day. Organic may be expensive but it is leaps and bounds above the rest (pastured is actually considered better, but with that, also more expensive).

Final word: Just the other day I was having a conversation with a friend. My friend said to me “you’re a personal trainer, performance specialist, you work out like 5xs a day (it’s actually 5xs a week) why are you on a diet?!”. My explanation was like this. Most people’s goals are to do what on a diet… lose weight… what is mine?.. My friend replied, “Lose weight?” I laughed; no it’s about optimal performance, not just in an athletic sense but in the ability to live life. Not needing coffee, energy drinks, 5hours energies, and being able to be active for 16hours plus a day. Don’t just go on a diet to lose weight, make a lifestyle change to increase your health, your performance, your energy, your confidence, your life!!

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Problem: Too often I hear that there is no time during the day to cook meals with fresh food, it saves time to just pop a lean cuisine into the microwave.

Solution: Get a slow cooker! Any time you need to eat a meal turn it on a few minutes before and your food is ready to go. prepare the food the night before and if needed take it with you to work! In most cases this is a realistic approach. Here is just one example of a recipe you can use for a slow cooker.

PREPARATION

Combine mushrooms, shallots, oil and 1/4 cup water in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven. Cover and cook over high heat, stirring often, until mushrooms are juicy, 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add broth, carrots, thyme and bay leaves; bring to a boil.

Place chicken in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker and lay lemon slices on top. Turn heat to high. Carefully pour in the vegetable mixture. Cover and cook until the chicken is very tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken and vegetables to a bowl; discard bay leaves and lemon slices. Skim fat and pour the juices into a large saucepan; add lemon zest. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until reduced to 2 cups, 15 to 20 minutes.

Mix cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. Add to the pan and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened. Add cream and lemon juice; stir until boiling. Return the chicken and vegetables to the sauce and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir in peas and parsley. Simmered Stew variation: Total: 1 1/2 hours In Step 1, use only 1 1/2 cups broth. In Step 2, add chicken, lemon slices and lemon zest to the Dutch oven. Cover and simmer gently over low heat until the chicken is very tender, about 45 minutes. Discard lemon slices and bay leaves. Omit Step 3. Continue with Step 4, cooking everything in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

TIPS & NOTES

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 4 up to adding the peas and parsley. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, if necessary, and reheat on the stovetop, in a microwave or in the oven; just before serving, stir in peas and parsley.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry:

Stir fry, as a meal, is usually questionable. The amount and value of the ingredients, usually tips the scale to the unhealthy side. However, when you can control the ingredients it can be healthy! By switching the pasta to 100%whole wheat, controlling the type of oil you use, how much you use of it, know the quality of the steak and make sure to strip it of as much fat as possible, and you decide what other ingredients to add. You can’t go wrong! Enjoy and let us know how it goes! Recipe as follows.

Step 4 In small cup, mix teriyaki sauce and cornstarch. Stir teriyaki sauce and beef into broccoli mixture in skillet. Cook and stir over high heat until sauce is thickened and heated through. Toss broccoli mixture with spaghetti. Garnish with green onions.

Training Aspects’ personal trainers and sports performance coaches want you to accomplish your goals. You, as the personal training client, are a reflection of our personal training and group training methods! We are here to help you accomplish all of your personal training goals! Our main training focus are people looking to increase performance, lose weight , lose body fat and increase lean muscle. Whether you live in Cherry Hill, Haddonfield,Marlton, or any of the other surrounding areas we are here to help you Move, Look and feel as you’ve always desired…